Figure Review: Mr. Potato Head Monster Mash

For years Mr. Potato Head remained largely unchanged, but in the last decade or so he’s become a powerhouse of various special editions. Two years ago I reviewed the Mr. Potato Head Trick or Tater, and this year I saw the new version, Monster Mash! When I saw him in the store, I just had to get him… Although he looked a bit light on accessories compared to his previous skins.

Packaging:
The packaging is pretty simple in the realm of Mr. Potato Head toys. These are little bubble cards that are almost like a clamshell, but are actually cards. Potato Head is pretty easy to get free and he comes mostly assembled.

The back sort of explains what all he comes with. This would make more sense if it wasn’t all so readily visible, but it’s pretty clear what he comes with just by looking in the package. One interesting note is that Potato Head no longer just has feet… He also has “pants”. It’s a tiny, tiny difference, though.

Sculpt/Paint:
You might naturally assume that all Mr. Potato Heads are alike. I know that’s what I thought. However, upon closer examination, he’s quite a bit different than the previous model.

The new potato body is shaped a bit different without a “mouth” preformed and is quite a bit shorter. You could say he’s a small fry! The mouth piece now has a large opening, so you can move his mouth around a bit.

He also has an extra set of holes on the side. I don’t know if that’s just for Monster Mash Potato Head or if that’s on all these new bodies. There are some holes in the back as well. Finally I had some issues with his butt. It kept falling off. Hate it when that happens!

When you put him all together, he sort of reminds me of My Pet Monster. It’s not a bad look, but it’s basically his only look. You can remove the items, but you’re not going to get much other variety with this guy and the included pieces.

If you have extra parts, even just a few, you can do some neat things with this body and it’s extra holes. I really like the options here and I’m inclined to pick up even more Potato Heads. This could become an addiction.

Articulation:
His arms move. That’s about it, unless you count being able to rotate the body parts.

Accessories:
He comes only with what is seen in the traditional Monster Mash design. No extra pieces at all. Doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose of a Mr. Potato Head? I mean, the whole play value is being able to switch him around!

Monster Potatoes!

This seems particularly weak when compared to the model from a couple years ago. It came with an actual accessory in the form of the candy bag as well as a ghost sheet to help change up his look. There’s just nothing else here. I suppose Hasbro/Playskool expects that you already have more Potato Head parts at home.

Value:
He’s a neat little guy, but he doesn’t feel like the value of the previous Potato Head. The Trick or Tater was a great Halloween toy that was self contained. This guy is more like an add on to your regular Potato Head toys.

Monster Mash Mr. Potato Head is a solid little spud, but unless your kids have some extra Mr. Potato parts laying around at home… I doubt this will occupy them for long. Collectors will likely enjoy the new parts and accessories, though.